Michigan State (16-5, 5-4) coach Cathy George said the win was an important one for her Spartans' post-season hopes.

"With Michigan ranked ahead of us in both the RPI and in the national rankings, we really feel like this can help us," George told MSUSpartans.com. "It's always important to get a win, especially at home against a strong team like Michigan."

With the loss, Michigan remains in ninth place in the Big Ten with a trip to No. 9 Penn State on Saturday marking the midway point of 20-game conference schedule. Nine Big Ten teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year.